


Impact

by INMH



Series: hc_bingo fanfiction fills 2019 [12]
Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruises, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Humor, Injury, Strong Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-05-16 16:44:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19322119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INMH/pseuds/INMH
Summary: Rook rescues Burke a little earlier than expected.





	Impact

“ _Fuck!_ ”  
  
“Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!”  
  
Rook was moving as fast as she could, but hauling another person along- especially someone as large (in comparison to her) as Burke- wasn’t easy. It wasn’t just moving quickly: It was trying to make sure she didn’t hurt him, or make his injury worse (She still didn’t know how well the vest had protected him from that shot) or lose her grip and drop him. Burke’s legs were moving, but she was bearing most of his weight.  
  
At least they’d lost the Peggies.  
  
Moving quickly was all for the purpose of making sure they _stayed_ lost.  
  
**_Please_** _let this be the right way. **Please.**_ _I’m gonna drop him._  
  
“There it is!” Rook gasped, eyes rolling shut with relief.  
  
The Johnson house had been one she’d stumbled across not too long ago when she was exploring the Henbane region outside of the jail. They’d been one of the families to join Eden’s Gate- from the sound of it, before Joseph’s little holy war had broken out. Rook couldn’t say she blamed them for joining the cult, not when the Seeds were effectively rendering them debt-free- but she wondered now if they were having second-thoughts about it.  
  
She kind of hoped not.  
  
They had nowhere to go if they did.  
  
Rook braced Burke against the wall and forced the door open. “Check the corners!” Burke hissed as she tried to pull him inside.  
  
Rook sighed, threw up her hands, and boldly marched into the cabin: No one was there, as she’d suspected. “It’s fine,” She assured him, pulling him inside and half-dragging him to the bedroom. “Here, lie down- it’s a damn sight cleaner than I thought it would be, just a little dusty.”  
  
“Doesn’t matter.” Burke was wheezing as he laid back. “Fuck,” he coughed. “Fuck. Fuck. I always… I always forget how much this shit hurts.”  
  
“This has happened before?”  
  
“Yeah. Couple years ago. Douchebag fired through the door when we came knocking. Don’t think he expected six guns to start firing back. Help me get this off.” Rook fumbled with the vest, trying to get it off without hurting him too much. She didn’t see blood, so he probably hadn’t been shot, but she’d feel better once they’d gotten his shirt off and they could confirm-  
  
Rook’s mouth dropped open. “ _Ho_ ly-”  
  
There was a vibrant, multicolored bruise on Burke’s rib-cage where the bullet had hit, and it was _bad_. There was a particularly alarming spot, a small black epicenter where it was obvious that the bullet had hit directly- the rest of the bruise was just the blast radius. “Did it penetrate?” Burke gasped, chest still heaving.  
  
“Uh…” Rook examined the wound. It didn’t _look_ like there was a bullet lodged in Burke’s side, but- “Oh, wait, duh.” She picked up the vest and shook it open: A small, squished bullet fell out. Rook double-checked the vest itself, and there were no holes. “No, it didn’t penetrate. Bullet’s in one piece, the vest doesn’t have any holes, you’re not bleeding- wait, no, there’s a little bit of blood, but really not that much. I think you’re good.”  
  
“Good.” Burke grimaced. “Might… Might take me a bit before I can move again. Can’t move or breathe so good. Might have a broken rib.”  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
“It’s a bullet. They hit hard.”  
  
Rook gnawed her lip for a moment. “Should I do something? _Can_ I do something?”  
  
“Not really. Doctors would do x-rays, maybe give me pain-meds or wrap the ribs. You can’t do any of that.”  
  
Rook drummed her fingers on the headboard. “I have to get my bearings, but I’m _pretty_ sure we’re close to the jail, where Whitehorse and the Cougars have shacked up. If we’re further away than that- or if you really need a doctor- I could try to find a truck, maybe get you to the clinic in Holland Valley.”  
  
Burke wheezed for a moment, considering. “Maybe. Let me see how I feel in the morning. For now, I don’t have it in me to get up.”  
  
Rook nodded. “Alright. Get some sleep.” She slid down the wall beside the bed, leaning her head and neck back against the mattress. “I’ll try to stay awake and keep watch for Peggies.”  
  
“I don’t give a shit about them,” Burke whispered raggedly. “We can shoot them. You see- or _hear_ \- Faith, shake my ass awake and drag me out by the scruff of my neck if you have to.”  
  
“Will do.”  
  
Faith had been pretty mad when Rook had pulled Burke from the Bliss. She wasn’t eager to meet the baby of the Seed family again anytime soon.  
  
So Rook tried to stay awake. She kept her gun on her lap and her eyes on the door. At one point, she crept over to it and quietly maneuvered a chair under the doorknob, making sure they’d have some warning if someone tried to get in. Still, she was… _Fairly_ confident that they were close to the jail, so maybe the Peggies would stay clear for fear of the Cougars coming to intervene.  
  
Eventually, though, Rook’s eyelids began to droop, and once or twice she became vaguely aware that she was falling asleep.  
  
She only woke up when something pulling at her head.  
  
Rook woke with a start, hands flying up to knock away the bug, or animal, or Peggie that was touching her- only to find that it was Burke lightly yanking her ponytail. Rook frowned and whipped it away from him like an irritable horse. “That’s not for pulling,” She grunted.  
  
Burke grinned weakly. “Got your attention though, didn’t it?”  
  
“Kids pull each other’s hair. You’re an adult: Use your words.”  
  
“Way you’re _pouting_ right now makes you look a hell of a lot younger than you are- and that’s saying something, because you already look like a frickin’ teenager.”  
  
“You wanna get shot again?” It was a relief, at least, to hear that he was talking a little less breathlessly now.  
  
“Calm down, that can’t be the first time someone’s told you that you look like a fifteen year-old.”  
  
“I bet everyone looks that young when they’re as old as you.”  
  
“ _Oof._ Okay, so that’s how it is. Move over, I’m gonna sit up.”  
  
Rook moved, rubbing her eyes and looking towards the window. It was dark outside, much darker than it had been when they’d gotten in (it had been early evening, so at least a few hours had passed), so maybe Burke had had a chance to get his strength back. “How you feeling?”  
  
“Like shit. _Geeeez._ Fuck. Okay.” Burke maneuvered himself into a sitting position and grimaced. “You mind turning on the light?”  
  
“Yeah.” The dim lamplight wasn’t quite enough to see the injury properly, but Burke didn’t seem nearly as disturbed by the sight of it as Rook had been.  
  
“Not as bad as the last one,” He muttered, lightly prodding around the bruise and wincing as he did. “My rib’s definitely not broken this time, at least.”  
  
Rook hesitated. “How about the Bliss? You having any effects from it? Last time they had to pump me full of adrenaline to get it out of my system.”  
  
Burke snorted. “What do you think getting shot pumps you full of? I’m not a doctor, but I gotta figure if you can get past the Bliss and generate a little of your own adrenaline maybe you can shake it off on your own. And we did run for a while.” He slowly reached for his shirt. “Besides, I think it runs off anyway if you’re not consistently exposed to it, and we’ve had a chance to air out. Fuck if I know, though.” Burke looked like he was going to try to put his shirt back on, but then decided against it. “All I remember is Faith being creepy as shit, and Joseph Seed’s preaching. How I managed to sit through his twisted little Sunday School lessons without blowing my brains out is beyond me.”  
  
“Well, you _were_ drugged to the gills.”  
  
“I was.” Burke sucked in a slow, steady, deep breath. “Thanks for that, by the way. That’d be the second time you’d pulled my fat out of the fire.”  
  
“It was a lot of fat to pull.”  
  
“God-damn Rook, fighting Peggies has made you _vicious_.”  
  
Rook smirked, then pulled her hair out of its ponytail and re-tied it; Burke’s tugging had yanked it loose. “You good to move, or do you want to wait until morning? We can’t be that far from the jail. I _know_ we’re not too far.”  
  
Burke waved a hand stiffly. “I can move, but it hurts like a bitch and I don’t think I can run if I have to. Give me until morning.”  
  
“Will do,” Rook said, settling back in as Burke awkwardly laid down again. “If you need something, don’t pull my hair again.”  
  
“Fine. I’ll just kick you.”  
  
“Thank you, Marshal.”  
  
"You're welcome, Deputy."  
  
-End


End file.
